Girdles



March 12, 1963 3,080,868

S. ZANCA GIRDLES Filed May 8, 1961 nited rates 3,080,868 GIRDLES Sallyann Zanca, Garfield, NJ., assigner to Maidentorm, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 8, 1961, Ser. No. 108,467 2 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 546) The characteristic of the invention is the provision at the back of the garment of a cuit which permits the wearer to bend and otherwise move the body in various positions without disturbing the position of the girdle on the body. It eliminates one major fault of conventional girdles; namely, that they ride up when the wearers body is moved.

The invention will be described with reference to th accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a plan View of an embodiment of the girdle looking at the front thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the girdle looking at the back thereof, the cuff underlying elastic net being slightly exposed, as by stretching the cuff in upward direction;

FlG. 3 is a fragmentary view at the underface of the girdle back, and illustrating the manner in which the cuff elements are seamed in position and reinforced.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown in FIG. l a suitable type of girdle to which the invention may be applied to the figure exposing the front 1 of said embodiment.

In FIG. 2, there is shown the back 2 of the girdle. The back and front elements may be made of a plurality of pieces of elastic material, or the garment may be made of a single piece vertically joined at its front, as indicated at 3, FIG. 1.

At the back of the girdle, it is formed with a slit below a relatively broad waistband area 4, which slit is bridged on the inner side of said girdle back by a band of elastic material, preferably net, and shown at 5. It is preferred that normally, the elastic band 8 be completely, or substantially, concealed by the outer material of the girdle back. For better illustration, however, upward stretch has been given to band 4, in order that the elastic net may be better shown in FIG. 1, and also in FIG. 3.

The back band 4 is of heavier construction than that of the main body of the girdle back, and hence in the present embodiment is two ply, preferably with a light series of woven ribs carried by the inner ply 4X, and is carried at FlG. 6. The girdle body 2, at the base of the slit 5, is preferably of two ply at the area 7, at which zigzag stitching is shown.

inwardly covering the slit at 5 is an elastic band 8, which in the present embodiment is made of elastic net. lt is seamed along the lines indicated at 9, FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, to the inner ply of 4X of waistband 4, and to the reinforced strip 10 underlying the slit.

On the inner-face of the garment, at its back, the end areas of the slit and the ends of elastic band 8, are reinforced by tapes indicated at 11, FIG. 1, one of the tapes being shown in FIG. 3. The top inner margin of the girdle front may be reinforced by a soft fabric band, on an area shown at 12 in FIG. 3, the lower edge being indicated at 11, FiG. 1, but inasmuch as band 12 is conventional and forms no part of the invention, it is not shown in detail.

When the girdle is worn, back band 4 will hug the waist, and in the movements of the wearer, particularly in bending, stresses upon the back band will not affect the area below it, because the elastic band 8 is capable of stretching to a great degree, at least double its width, or substantially so.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is -as follows:

l. A girdle comprising a front structure, and a back structure which includes a relatively wide waistband member extending across the back of the girdle, a slit being formed in the back structure and extending the greater length of the waistband member immediately below the same, longitudinal edges of the waistband member and the back structure below the slit normally being approximately in abutment, means reinforcing the said back structure underlying and along said slit, a relatively wide elastic band at the inner-face of said back structure and extending to said last named reinforcing means and also extending upwardly across said slit in the back structure, means securing the longitudinal margins of said relatively wide elastic band to said waistband member and to said back structure reinforcing means below the slit, and means securing the ends of said elastic band to the girdle and effecting reinforcement of said elastic band ends.

2. A girdle in accordance with structure of claim 1 in which the back and front of the girdle comprise a single piece of elastic fabric, joined at the front of the girdle, a front insert for the Igirdle forming part of said juncture, said insert having vertical stretch but being resistant to lateral stretch, each side area of the girdle at the median line, between its front and back areas, being vertically slit from the top of the girdle to a point substantially below elastic insert band which bridges the slit at the back of the girdle, and reinforcing vertical tapes bridging said slits and being seamed to the fabric opposite said slits.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,482,640 Spiess Sept. 20, 1949 2,735,100 Erteszek 1Feb. 21, 1956 2,905,180 Hurwitz Sept. 22, 

1. A GIRDLE COMPRISING A FRONT STRUCTURE, AND A BACK STRUCTURE WHICH INCLUDES A RELATIVELY WIDE WAISTBAND MEMBER EXTENDING ACROSS THE BACK OF THE GIRDLE, A SLIT BEING FORMED IN THE BACK STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING THE GREATER LENGTH OF THE WAISTBAND MEMBER IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE SAME, LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE WAISTBAND MEMBER AND THE BACK STRUCTURE BELOW THE SLIT NORMALLY BEING APPROXIMATELY IN ABUTMENT, MEANS REINFORCING THE SAID BACK STRUCTURE UNDERLYING AND ALONG SAID SLIT, A RELATIVELY WIDE ELASTIC BAND AT THE INNER-FACE OF SAID BACK STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING TO SAID LAST NAMED REINFORCING MEANS AND ALSO EXTENDING UPWARDLY ACROSS SAID SLIT IN THE BACK STRUCTURE, MEANS SECURING THE LONGITUDINAL MARGINS OF SAID RELATIVELY WIDE ELASTIC BAND TO SAID WAISTBAND MEMBER AND TO SAID BACK STRUCTURE REINFORCING MEANS BELOW THE SLIT, AND MEANS SECURING THE ENDS OF SAID ELASTIC BAND TO THE GIRDLE AND EFFECTING REINFORCEMENT OF SAID ELASTIC BAND ENDS. 